Accepted Papers - Day 3 (Friday)

Track A - Bidding and Negotiation Strategies (09.00-10.30)

A Dynamic Unit-Demand Auction Supporting Bid Revision

Chinmayi Krishnappa, and Greg Plaxton

Abstract: We present a dynamic unit-demand auction that supports arbitrary bid revision. Each round of the dynamic auction takes a tentative allocation and pricing as part of the input, and al- lows each bidder — including a tentatively allocated bidder — to submit an arbitrary unit-demand bid. We establish strong properties of the dynamic auction related to truthfulness and efficiency. Using a certain privacy preservation property of each round of the auction, we show that the overall dynamic auction is highly resistant to shilling. We present a fast algorithm for implementing the proposed auction. Using this algorithm, the amortized cost of processing each bidding operation is upper bounded by the complexity of solving a single-source shortest paths problem on a graph with nonnegative edge weights and a node for each item in the auction. We propose a dynamic price adjustment scheme that discourages sniping by providing incentives to bid early in the auction.

A Multi-Choice Offer Strategy for Bilateral Multi-Issue Negotiations Using Modified DWM Learning

Hae Young Noh, Kivanc Ozonat, Sharad Singhal, and Yinping Yang

Abstract: This paper introduces a “multi-choice” offer strategy for an automated agent conducting bilateral multi-issue negotiations in an agent-to-human negotiation setting. Assuming that a rational human counterpart is more likely to concede on less important issues, we developed a modified dynamic weighted majority (DWM) learning algorithm for the negotiation agent to estimate the issue weights and issue ranks of the human counterpart. The agent then utilizes these estimates to strategically propose counter-offers with multiple choices to the human counterpart. This strategy allows the agent to expedite the negotiation process and increase the chance of agreement by improving the satisfaction level of the counterpart. We validated this offer strategy using two sets of buyer behavior data: one simulated based on time-dependent behavior models used in the literature, and another collected from a human experiment on automated negotiations. Results indicate that, when compared to other offer strategies described in the literature with similar learning speeds, (i) the modified DWM-based learning algorithm estimates the counterpart’s issue weight/rank more accurately, and (ii) the multi-choice offer strategy utilizing the learning algorithm makes more attractive offers to the counterpart while maintaining the same utility for the agent.

Track B - IT Services II (09.00-10.30)

Transferring Workers’ Knowledge into the Information System: A Case of Recommendation System for Supplier Selection in e-Procurement Service Company

Gwangjae Jung, and Seonyoung Shim

Abstract: With the emergence of indirect procurement, it has become a global trend for companies to outsource their maintenance, repair, and operating (MRO) supplies to procurement service providers (PSPs). Due to the variety of MRO items, evaluation of numerous suppliers in various industries is a particularly complex task for PSPs. In order for companies to find suppliers that offer quality goods not just low prices, a systemized and transparent evaluation model is needed. However, many PSPs still evaluate and select suppliers based on the sourcing managers’ subjective experiences. IMK, the leading procurement service provider in Korea, tried to systemize its supplier evaluation and selection processes by developing a recommendation system (named WI) for supplier selection. This innovative system brought cost reduction and transparency in sourcing processes. IMK not only transferred sourcing managers’ knowledge of supplier evaluation into WI, but also made the system evolve by sourcing managers’ collective intelligence –one of the important features of Web 2.0 – in order to adapt dynamic changes in supplier and MRO markets. Because of these unique characteristics, the participation of the sourcing managers is very critical for WI’s performance. This case explains how IMK encouraged sourcing managers’ participation to improve WI’s performance. We classify several management issues, which are derived by the three maintenance projects for WI, into three perspectives of technology-organization- environment (TOE) framework. This case mainly shows that transferring too much tacit knowledge increases the system complexity and reduces the ease of use. Communication among users helps them to identify their roles in the system and facilitates knowledge contribution. A CEO-driven implementation stimulates system use in the beginning, but it cannot be maintained without sufficient understanding of the system on the user’s side. Coping with trial errors during the system development and maintenance, WI was successfully implemented and became the core competency in IMK’s business.

Anonymous reputation based reservations in e-commerce (AMNESIC)

Helena Rifà-Pous

Abstract: Online reservation systems have grown over the last recent years to facilitate the purchase of goods and services. Gen- erally, reservation systems require that customers provide some personal data to make a reservation effective. With this data, service providers can check the consumer history and decide if the user is trustable enough to get the reserve. Although the reputation of a user is a good metric to im- plement the access control of the system, providing personal and sensitive data to the system presents high privacy risks, since the interests of a user are totally known and tracked by an external entity. In this paper we design an anony- mous reservation protocol that uses reputations to profile the users and control their access to the offered services, but at the same time it preserves their privacy not only from the seller but the service provider.

Design of a Multiagent-based E-Marketplace to Secure Service Trading on the Internet

Qin Li, Keith M. Martin and Jie Zhang

Abstract: Electronic marketplaces are not always easily regulated us- ing traditional legal systems. As a result, suitable dispute prevention and resolution mechanisms for electronic marketplaces are of interest to design. In this paper, we design a multiagent-based e-marketplace where participants represented by autonomous software agents may be egocentric, strategic and even malicious. Our marketplace focuses on trading arbitrable and replicatable services, such as computational resources and data storage, over the Internet. We propose a novel dispute prevention and resolution mechanism that is theoretically proven to be able to induce good conduct for marketplace participants. Our marketplace also features cost-effectiveness, robustness and budget balance.

Track A - IT Services III (10.45-11.45)

Preference of Internet-based Debit Payment Protocols

Kiyoon Sung, and Jae-Kyu Lee

Abstract: Debit payment is a low cost and low risk payment method in comparison with credit and pre-paid payment methods. In this study, we analyze the structures of Internet-based debit payment protocols and classified them into three types depending upon which party drives the authentication: Payment Gateway, customer‟s bank, or electronic merchant. For each type, real world protocols, SSL/D, SDT, and SET/D, respectively are exemplified. To compare the merchants‟ preference regarding these protocols, we have identified five distinctive factors that distinguish the characteristics of these three protocols: authentication method, risk of leaking bank account information, efficient recovery of failed authorization response, merchant‟s required implementation effort, and customer‟s ease of use. For these factors, the preferred features of each merchant are mapped to compute the preferences of the protocols.

In order to empirically evaluate the preferences of protocols, we surveyed the merchant‟s weighting of five factors and preferred features from 36 online merchants. Based on the obtained data, we computed the preferences of protocols and first found that the protocols have difference preference levels. Second, this study found that the game and content providers prefer SSL/D and real goods retailers prefer SDT. This preference value provides insight into the future demand of debit payment protocols.

Business Modeling for Online Video Services: Download vs. Streaming

Yung-Ming Li, Lien-Fa Lin, and Cheng-Yang Lai

Abstract: Download and streaming are two major approaches for delivering online video/movie. In this paper, considering their differentiated characteristics, we analyze the pricing issues in a market where both types of content distribution are available. We examine the impact of various technological and market factors on developing the business strategies under the scenarios that these distribution channels are owned by the same provider or two independent firms. We further examine the loyalty fee development when the video content is independently owned by another content provider. Our results shows that while the quality of two types of video distribution has significant impact on determining the content loyalty fee in a competitive market, loyalty fee is only affected by the characteristic of steaming service.

Track B - Online Channels (10.45-11.45)

Investigation of Factors Influencing the Adoption of Mobile Data Services

Shu-Chun Ho, Wen-Yu Sun, Yu-Min Wang

Abstract: The increasing power and rapid advance of mobile devices has changed the way people access information. According to the International Telecommunication Union [18], the number of mobile cellular subscribers worldwide is estimated to reach 5.3 billion, including 940 million subscriptions to 3G services in the end of 2010. Commercialized 3G services are widespread in many countries and users have been rapidly switching to the 3G platform. The development of mobile devices and mobile applications has created great potential market for mobile data services. The objective of this research is to investigate the critical factors that affect consumers’ intention to using mobile data service. We build a theoretical framework that considers both the technology acceptance and economics perspectives. We conducted a survey research among the consumers of mobile data services and collected 310 valid questionnaires in late 2010. Our findings are as follows. First, consumers’ perceived service availability has a positive impact on perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness of mobile data services. Second, switching benefits and perceived ease of use have positive effects on consumers’ perceived usefulness of mobile data services. Third, perceived usefulness has a positive effect on the intention to use mobile data services. Overall, our research provides both theoretical and practical insights into the determinants of consumers’ intention to use mobile data services.

An Empirical Investigation of Mobile Channel Usage and Mutual Influence with Internet Channel

Jonghun Jung, and Byungtae Lee

Abstract: Advances in information technology have increased the number of people using mobile device and have made mobile service pervasive. In spite of increase of rapid diffusion and usage of mobile service, previous papers mainly focused on figuring out factors influencing the mobile technology adoption but understanding of customer behavior regarding the usage of mobile channel is lacking. Moreover, mobile service channel is one of alternative channels and customer choice of one service channel affects customer use of other channels. We investigate the relationship between service channels. Specifically, this paper empirically investigates the mutual influence between internet and mobile channels in banking service through VAR test using data of Korea online banking service. Our result shows that, as customer’s use of mobile channel increases, it has influences on internet channel use, and vice versa. Customers using mobile banking service channel tend to use internet banking service as a complementary channel. On the contrary, the use of internet banking service does not have an influence on the use of mobile banking service channel. Additionally, the trait of this relationship depends on the characteristic of task. Also cross channel influence is differentiated by banking service task. This paper provides the understanding of customer behavior in multiple service channels and implication that strategic management of multi-channel has to be concerned in terms of relationship between service channels.